Police and local fishermen of Xiapu County in southeast China's Fujian Province rescued a Taiwanese vessel as it was sinking after hitting a rock Tuesday morning.
All five crew members aboard the vessel and property worth millions of yuan were saved.
At 2:39 am Tuesday morning, crew from the Taiwanese vessel sent out a mayday call to a mainland patrol boat, saying their vessel was out of control and about to hit rocks.
The patrol boat and two large fishing vessels from Xiapu County went to the vessel's rescue.
Strong winds, huge waves, and low visibility slowed the rescue and by the time the patrol boat found the Taiwanese vessel it had been holed after striking a rock and was sinking.
The rescue fleet together with the vessel crew eventually successfully blocked the gaping hole in the vessel's hull and the vessel was later towed to Sansha port in Fujian province for repairs.
(People's Daily April 24, 2002)
